21 young MLB stars making baseball awesome

21 young MLB stars making baseball awesome

The only real issue with Bryce Harper’s mission to “Make Baseball Fun Again” is the final word, which, while it makes for a funny take on Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, also implies that baseball was ever more fun than it is right now. Major League Baseball has been played at a higher level in recent seasons than it ever was before, and great baseball has always been pretty darn fun.

Harper’s dedication to destigmatizing emotional displays on the field and destroying the game’s silly unwritten rules is admirable, but there are a lot of ways baseball players can and do make baseball fun. Sometimes it’s a hearty bat-flip or a fist-pump or a roar, other times it’s something as simple as a monster homer.

But Harper represents perhaps the most visible player in an incredible group of young talent to hit the Majors in recent years. This post aims to celebrate the new generation of MLB stars, all of whom are doing what they can to make baseball awesome. All 21 players listed below are 25 years old or younger, and all have at least a half-season’s worth of being excellent big-league players under their belts.

And of course there are plenty of entertaining and great players older than 25, not to mention tons of tantalizing talents who have yet to establish themselves in the Majors. But the point here is that all these guys are already good, and still young enough that we can expect them to get even better.

Here are 21 young MLB stars making baseball awesome, in no particular order:

1. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

(PHOTO: AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)

Hey, remember, like, two seconds ago when I said “in no particular order?” I lied. The top spot on this list has to go to Trout, who is somehow still only 24 and has been the best all-around player in baseball since the day he became a full-time big-leaguer in 2012. Trout said earlier this offseason that he thinks bat-flipping shows up the opposing pitcher and has no intention to do so, and because people hate nuance, they’ve used it to paint him as an emotionless, old-school type guy. But there’s just no doubt Trout’s having fun playing baseball, because being as good at anything as Mike Trout is at baseball simply has to feel incredible.

2. Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

(PHOTO: Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

Harper’s got the outspoken type of bravado Trout lacks, plus in 2015 he became the first player in Trout’s Major League tenure to have a better season than Trout. With Derek Jeter retired and Alex Rodriguez inching slowly toward the door, Harper appears most likely to seize the title of baseball’s Most Famous Guy — if he isn’t that already. He seems to cherish the villain in opposing cities, frequently pretending to throw a ball to rowdy fans before shoving it in his glove and running off the field. But beneath it all, Harper seems like he’s actually a pretty decent dude, and he always winds up giving that same ball to a kid somewhere near the dugout.

3. Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles

If he came up in any other era, Manny Machado would be such a big deal right now. Machado’s only 23 years old, and he’s coming off a 2015 season that saw him play in all 162 games, hit 35 homers, steal 20 bases, and make an array of outrageous defensive plays at third base. He’s off to a hot start to 2016, too. Oh, and he can play shortstop, and he’s probably great at it because he’s great at everything else.

4. Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins

(PHOTO: Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images)

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about Jose Fernandez that makes him so amazingly likable, but he’s about as charismatic an on-field personality as exists in the game and, more importantly, he’s ridiculously dominant. Fernandez missed most of the last two seasons due to Tommy John surgery, but he’s 23 years old and owns a 2.50 career ERA and an obscene 10.7 career rate of strikeouts per nine innings. Baseball’s just better when Jose Fernandez is playing it.

5. Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies

(USA TODAY Sports Images)

Nolan Arenado has the misfortune of playing for the Rockies, a club that is baseball’s most geographically isolated and plays its home games in a hitting environment that makes people doubt its offensive players. But hitting as a Colorado Rockie across the course of a season is probably tougher than you think, and Arenado paced the National League in homers last year while playing consistently brilliant defense at third base. It’s hard to believe he won’t turn 25 until later this week.

6. Carlos Correa, Houston Astros

This guy you probably know. The reigning AL Rookie of the Year, like Harper, is an outspoken proponent of fun in baseball. He also didn’t turn legal drinking age until late last September. Correa’s got style for days and talent to match. He favors funky hats.

7. Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh Pirates

(PHOTO: AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Another guy I was surprised to realize hasn’t yet turn 26. Cole has always had an ace-like quality to him thanks to his big frame and his mid-90s heat and his fiery demeanor on the mound. In 2015, his first full season free of injury, he pitched like the guy everyone knew he’d be when he was drafted first overall in 2011. Cole’s 2.66 FIP (fielding independent pitching) last season ranked third in the National League behind only Clayton Kershaw and Jake Arrieta.

8. Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians

Everyone knew Lindor would be an elite defensive shortstop as soon as he hit the big leagues, but we may have slept on his offensive game. The Puerto Rican-born 22-year-old hit .313 with an .835 OPS in the Majors in 2015, his best professional season at the plate despite the myriad challenges that come with facing the world’s best pitching. He has shown more power at the Majors than he ever did in the minors, and more than most might expect from a guy with a relatively small frame. Despite his young age, Lindor has hit third in the Indians’ lineup in most games this season.

9. Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets

This freakin’ guy. Syndergaard mixes a high-90s fastball with remarkable control and inhuman breaking stuff, including a revamped mid-90s slider (!) featured above from PitcherList.com. He also embraces the nickname “Thor,” buys Bartolo Colon T-shirts for his entire family at Christmastime, sports shoulder-length blond locks, and… actually, you know what? I’m just going to turn this one over to Pedro Martinez:

10. Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox

(USA TODAY Sports Images)

Betts plays such a polished all-around game that it’s hard to believe he’s still just 23 years old. He hits for average and power, he plays great defense in the outfield despite converting from second base as recently as 2014, and he steals bases at a great clip. Plus, his name is “Mookie,” and his initials — intentionally — spell out “MLB.”

11. Maikel Franco, Philadelphia Phillies

(PHOTO: Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports Images)

The Phillies are in the midst of a rebuilding phase, but Franco appears the guy on their current roster most likely to be part of their next contending team. Dude smokes the ball, and unlike many power hitters, he doesn’t really strike out too often. Plus, he has dope hair.

12. Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays

(PHOTO: Will Vragovic)

Kiermaier may have fallen short of this eating challenge at Smokey Bones a couple months ago, but there’s almost nothing he can’t do in the field. Arguably the best defender in all of baseball, the Rays’ 25-year-old center fielder ranked among the game’s most valuable players in 2015 despite an average offensive performance. Here’s a depiction of the ground Kiermaier covers in center:

This is what Kevin Kiermaier's OF range looked like last year plotted at TB's stadium. Yellow = starting position pic.twitter.com/ofIO2YxWLs

13. Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers

(GIF via MLB.com/Cut4)

Presumably you know Puig by now. But what we too easily forget in all the drama and controversy that seems to come along with the mention of his name is that Puig, for the entirety of his first two big-league seasons, was really, really, really good. He took a step back in 2015 during an injury-riddled campaign, but showed up to camp looking trim in 2016 and is already off to a great start to the season. We wouldn’t talk about him so much if he weren’t so awesome to watch.

14. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros

(PHOTO: Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images)

For the purposes of this fairly arbitrary list, I intentionally avoided picking any two guys from the same team. But the Astros are the exception, because it seems impossible to leave out either Correa or his pint-sized double-play partner. Altuve’s height — or lack thereof — might distract some from his excellence, but he’s one of the game’s elite second basemen thanks to a combination of great speed, sturdy defense, strong contact ability, and surprising pop.

15. Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs

The video above shows the longest home run of the 2015 season, a 495-foot blast off the bat of one of the game’s brightest young sluggers. Guys who enter the league with as much hype as Bryant did rarely match it so quickly, but the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year swiftly established himself as a bona fide star and important part of a Cubs team that now looks completely stacked. He also offers manager Joe Maddon some defensive flexibility, mostly playing third base — and doing it well — but also starting games at all three outfield positions last season.

16. Marcus Stroman, Toronto Blue Jays

(PHOTO: John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports Images)

Quite possible the most fun pitcher in baseball, the Blue Jays’ young righty returned from a freak spring-training injury expected to end his season to make big starts for Toronto down the stretch and in the postseason in 2015. Now healthy, the 5-foot-8 Stroman comes equipped with a vast arsenal of pitches and his own personalized hashtag — #HDMH, or “height doesn’t measure heart.” As a sportswriter, I am contractually obligated to refer to him as “irrepressible,” and he very much appears to be that. Also, his dad can beat up your dad.

17. Miguel Sano, Minnesota Twins

(PHOTO: Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images)

Sano is a massive guy with massive power. It’s hard to say if he’ll stick in right field, where the Twins are using him this season due to a crowd at first base and DH, but every team in baseball would bend over backwards to find a way to get his bat in its lineup. After missing all of 2014 due to Tommy John surgery, Sano started 2015 in Class AA and hit 15 homers in 62 games before jumping to the Majors and tacking on 18 more longballs. Target Field is one of the Majors’ toughest hitting environments, but no stadium in the world is going to contain Sano when he gets a hold of one.

18. Carlos Martinez, St. Louis Cardinals

Wait, baseballs shouldn’t move like that. Martinez’s small stature and big stuff earned him comparisons to Pedro Martinez while en route to the Majors, and he’s got some of the Hall of Famer’s feistiness to him, too. An enjoyable and emotional presence on the mound, Martinez proved excellent in his first full season as a big-league starter in 2015. Also, fun fact: He planned to become a priest before choosing baseball instead. He might have been a totally different type of Cardinal.

19. Rougned Odor, Texas Rangers

(Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports)

Rougned Odor has a younger brother who is also named Rougned Odor, plus an uncle named Rouglas Odor. He also has the baseball instincts necessary to know to dash home from third base when Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin banked a return throw off Shin-Soo Choo’s bat in the wild Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS. Injuries forced Odor’s promotion in 2014 at a very young age, and he struggled to start 2015 and got demoted to Class AAA in early May. But after returning to the Majors in mid-June, Odor hit .292 with an .861 OPS the rest of the way. That’s not shabby for a middle infielder of any age, no less one who just turned 22 in February.

20. Matt Duffy, San Francisco Giants

(PHOTO: Kenny Karst/USA TODAY Sports Images)

Like fellow San Francisco infielders Joe Panik and Brandon Crawford, Duffy seems to fit the Giants’ mold of players you never really hear about as prospects who then show up in the Majors and play really well. But though the 25-year-old appears to be an excellent defensive third baseman and a nice hitter, this site would be remiss if it focused on anything about Duffy besides his enormous cat. Look at the size of Matt Duffy’s cat:

21. Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals

(PHOTO: Peter G. Aiken/USA TODAY Sports)

Salvy’s a three-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glover, and reigning World Series MVP and he won’t turn 26 until next month. He refuses to draw walks, but he hits for enough power to be an above-average offensive catcher while serving as one of the game’s elite defenders behind the plate. He also caught in over 150 regular season and postseason games in each of the last two seasons, which is outrageous. And he wears Victoria’s Secret perfume while he plays, giving him perhaps baseball’s only 80-grade body odor.

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